Letters to the Editor
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I'd rather just watch "Gimme Shelter" on DVD
The '69 show that they said was the last great hayride of hippydom.
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What They Were, What They Are
Were the Stones a better band a few years ago? Sure. Is there a better rock band on the planet right now? If there is, I haven't heard them. In fact, all that I hear on the radio these days is crap. This is rock and roll. Don't let the fact that the boys aren't quite what they used to be detract from what they still are. They're still a excellent band playing great music (and doing it might damned well, thank you very much).
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Zombies
I haven't seen them in concert since 1975 at Madison Square Garden and have studiously avoided seeing them as they descended into zombie-hood. Glimpses I get here and there give me the creeps and spoil my memories of the first listen of Exile on Main Street etc. etc. etc. When D.H. Lawrence published his book of poems "Look! We Have Come Through," Bertrand Russell said, "They may have come through, but must I look?" That's how I feel about the Eveready Battery Stones.
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Regarding Ms. Zacharek's mocking tone
Stephanie Zacharek, you have no business making fun of Mick Jagger's relationship to the great blues tradition which he continues to revere in his performances ("he's made a deal with the devil a la Robert Johnson and ooooh isn't it scary"?). Yes Mick is rich and old now, and tired and even a bit ridiculous, but as Skip James once said to a silly fan who just didn't get it, Mick has "been and gone from places you'll never get to."
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Relevancy?
Relevancy is overrated, rock and roll never asked for it. Rock on Mick Keith and Marty.
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Didn't read the article
Sorry, just wanted to share a joke Jagger made about the movie: "This may be the only Scorsese film that doesn't have Gimmie Shelter in it."
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In fact, all that I hear on the radio these days is crap.
Oh, come on. Since time immemorial everything on commercial radio has been crap. Even the Stones never got a hell of a lot of radio play compared to their contemporaries, and the Stones songs that do get airplay are the least interesting ones. (Keef once said that he wanted to call "Satisfaction" "Auntie Millie’s Caught Her Left Tit in the Mangle".)
Good rock and roll has always required a bit of a steeplechase to find, and you can't rely on commercial radio to do the legwork for you. Duh.
Sorry, getting off your lawn now...
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@ smoothyo
Generational arguments are tedious to be sure--but if the best you can do is refer to R.E.M. and U2 (they both were around during the first Reagan Administration) than you are not familiar with some of the great music being made today. You sound a little like someone dismissing the Beatles in '64 as nothing more than a rip-off of the Everly Brothers. The Stones rock, certainly. I own a number of their records (nothing past "Tatoo You") However, please forgive me if I lack interest in seeing them now, grinding out the old hits through the clenched-teeth of a poorly concealed yawn and charging a 100 bucks for the pleasure.
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A bad review, thank god!
I can't understand how people keep saying this was some kind of incredible concert. I LOVE the Stones, and I think they've sounded TERRIBLE for past 15-25 years (nonetheless, I went to both the Voodoo Lounge and Bridges to Babylon tours).
Jagger in particular is terrible. Sure, he's got a lot of energy for his age, but he drains the life out of every once-poignant lyric with his perfunctory, disinterested readings. And the band sounds polished and professional in the worst possible way.
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"Things Ain't What They Used To Be"
I haven't felt deep passion for the Stones since Mick Taylor left the band. I am sure Ron Wood is a nice man, but he strikes me as a Keef wannabe. As a fiftysomething myself, I see Charlie Watts as an example of someone who is aging gracefully.. Mick? Well-I am a little weary ( and saddened) by yet another older man with 25 year old hair...
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Questioning the Stones
Interesting letters by all. I love the old Stones (last great album: Some Girls, IMO), & I wonder why they can't recapture whatever it was that made them write so many great songs from say 1968 - 1975 (78 if you want to include Some Girl's songs).
Does anyone have an idea? I hear other bands that have taken their best stuff & wrote other fine songs that sound somewhat like their best stuff. The Stones don't have any recent songs that are like: Paint it Black, Under My Thumb, Goodbye Ruby Tuesday, Gimmie Shelter, It's Only Rock n Roll, Brown Sugar, etc. etc.
Of course, they aren't the only band to 'lose its mojo', there are alot of them like the Stones in that regard.
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You really got to wonder why Scorsese didn't . . .
. . . make this movie about 25-years ago. As many others have pointed out, the Stones ceased to be interesting about the time of punk and its aftermath. I would say Some Girls would have been a nice swan song. However, Mick Jagger may be the neediest and greediest ever middle-class kid pretending to be on the edge. As Neil Young sings, it's better to burn out than rust. One can only wonder what sort of make-up magician keeps them from looking all red and orange in public.
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Re: Paul in KY
I have wondered why the Stones can't seem to match or at least get close to some of their previous accomplishments. The best I can say is that there is a lack of effort to go for any sort of new sound when the old hits still make them millions upon millions of dollars. Perhaps when you have that back catalogue it is very easy to rest on your laurels.
Not every older musician is fallen into the oldies status. Paul McCartney's new albums have been stunning pieces of work, perhaps in part because he works with younger musicians. On his 2005 album, Chaos and Creation in the Backyard he gave Nigel Goodrich, Radiohead's producer, full production responsibilities. That worked very well for him. Bob Dylan has also continued to be vital, but then again Dylan never had the same bent towards marketing that the Stones did. He has always seemed to do whatever he wanted.
There's also Elvis Costello, who has pushed into R&B and country the last few years. Ditto with Van Morrison. I didn't like Springsteen's last album that much, but he puts on a great live show and had that great album of Pete Seeger songs two years ago. The Allman Brothers Band has seen a complete revitalization in the past few years thanks in large part to the contributions of 20-something virtuosos Derek Trucks (slide guitar) and Oteil Burbridge (bass), who have brought freshness to the band by bringing them back to their jazzier, jammier roots.
Those are a few great examples off the top of my head. Not sure if there's a trend there, but it's clear that these musicians are doing something the Stones are not.